Monday is fun day as Ram softball clips Eagles, 6-4

New Canaan senior co-captain Jordan Ventura laces a triple to center during the first inning of Monday’s softball game at Waveny Park. The Rams defeated visiting Trumbull 6-4 for their third straight win. (Dave Stewart Photo)

Jordan Ventura has always been pretty adept at putting the bat on the ball. She’s also an experienced catcher with the ability to handle both of the New Canaan Rams’ aces: Sister Cydney Ventura and junior Ali Reilly.

For this season, however, all of those sorts of things are taking a back seat for Jordan Ventura and her New Canaan softball teammates. Their primary focus is simply on having fun.

“Our hopes are really high this year,” Jordan Ventura said. “We want to win, but we also want to have fun because this is our last year together and most of us aren’t going to be playing again. When it’s fun, we win, and that’s why we know we’re going to have a good season.”

Jordan Ventura had a home run, a triple, and two RBIs, and Collette Pellegrini drove in three runs, as New Canaan picked up its third straight win to begin the season, 6-4, over the Trumbull Golden Eagles Monday in Waveny Park.

The Rams pounded out 11 hits, and eight players had at least one single in what was a total team effort for the New Canaan starting nine.

“With this lineup, you’ve got the long ball hitters, but then you’ve also got nine or 10 girls that can hit,” head coach Danielle Simoneau said. “They all can do it and they’re all hitters. Everybody contributes.”

Jordan Ventura had the hottest bat, going 2-for-4 with a pair of long shots to the outfield. Pellegrini came through with a 2-for-3 effort that included a double, and Amanda Frattaroli had a key RBI single and scored a run.

In the pitching circle, starter Ali Reilly didn’t have her best stuff, but delivered a solid performance to get the complete game victory. She allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits in seven innings, while walking two and striking out eight.

More importantly, she never let the Eagles (0-3) slip in front, allowing the Rams to play from ahead for most of the game.

“There were some missed spots, but she doesn’t really get shaken up,” Ventura said. “When there’s a few hits, she doesn’t get nervous or anything. She stays in there and that’s the most important thing. She has her head in the game and she listens when I tell her what she needs to do.”

“Ali did well,” Simoneau said. “She started to press a little bit and tried too hard to make that perfect pitch at times, but overall, she did well. Trumbull has a good hitting squad so you can’t hang your head when they get hits.”

The outfield of Abby Jenkins in left, Pellegrini in center, and Cydney Ventura in right also came up big, as Trumbull is a strong hitting team.

“There were some pitches I didn’t think they were going to hit the way they did,” Jordan Ventura said. “They’re a good team, so we definitely didn’t think it was going to be an easy win and we knew we were going to have to fight.”

New Canaan drew first blood in the bottom of the first after Courtney Rogers lined a one-out double to left field. Jordan Ventura then pounded a triple to deep center to get Rogers home.

Pitcher Madelyn Festa stranded Ventura by getting the next two hitters on strikeouts to end the inning.

Trumbull tied the game with the help of an error in the top of the third. After Megan Thaler walked with one out, Christie Costello put down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first was wild and the runners ended up on second and third.

A sac bunt by Jayme Thompson drove in Thaler with the tying run, but Reilly retired the final batter of the inning on a fly ball.

New Canaan quickly answered with a three-spot in the home half of the third.

With one out, Reilly singled to left and then alertly took second base when the throw from the outfield got away. Ready followed with a single and stole second, and Amanda Frattaroli came through with an RBI single to right for a 2-1 lead.

Festa nearly escaped without further damage, but Pellegrini cashed in for two runs when she looped a double into left field to make it 4-1.

Emily Clark blasted a solo home run for Trumbull in the next inning, and Jordan Ventura responded with a solo shot of her own in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Rams up 5-2.

“Jordan’s locked in right now,” Simoneau said. “She was locked in against Woodland, too. She’s just relaxed and enjoying what she’s doing.”

“When I go up there more relaxed and not thinking about things, it’s a lot easier,” Ventura said. “When you go up there wanting a home run, it’s not going to happen — I’ve learned that in the past. When you’re loose, it’s nice up there and that’s when you get the big hits.”

Trumbull got back to within a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI triple by Kristine Liptack and a run-scoring single by Clark.

New Canaan plated an insurance run in the bottom of the frame when Ready doubled and later scored on a single by Pellegrini.

The Eagles put a runner on base in each of the last two innings, but Reilly shut the door each time, fanning the final batter in the seventh to seal the win.

The fact that the Rams were able to answer each of Trumbull’s challenges was one of the biggest positives from the game.

“I was very pleased with the way they responded,” Simoneau said. “This is the second time we’ve gone back-and-forth and they’re not quitting. They just keep chipping away, they realized there’s a lot of game left and they took it inning by inning.”

Armed with a 3-0 record heading into Wednesday’s showdown at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, the Rams are focused on their primary goal: Having fun in their final year together.

“The most important thing is the girls are enjoying themselves,” Simoneau said. “That is the overall goal of the season — just have fun and good things happen when you’re enjoying what you’re doing. They’re enjoying it and you can’t ask for anything more.”